When shoes die, do their soles go to heaven?

Last Friday I bid a tearful goodbye to the first and only pair of ballet flats I have ever owned. I have never cried over the loss of any of the material things I have owned and accumulated over the years, but these flats were special to me. You see, I have always been a jeans and sneakers kinda girl (I have like 5 pair of sneakers), so after much nagging from my sis earlier this year (“For God’s sake Kakak, you’re turning 30! Wear something else besides sneakers!”), I went on the lookout for a pair of shoes that didn’t require lacing up.

Just like how I felt when deciding on my boyfriend (who turned out to be my 1^st and only boyfriend and now hubby), I wanted my 1^st pair of shoes to be special. I didn’t want to settle and just like the shoes, I wanted to LOVE them! So I had set out a list of criterias and understandably, I had a hell of a time searching for a pair that fulfilled them.

One fateful day while on honeymoon in the UK, I stumbled across THE PERFECT PAIR OF BALLET FLATS. It met every one of my criteria and it was reasonably priced (hell, RM 200 for a pair of Ted Baker is a steal!). And, as luck may have it, that was the only pair left on the shelf and it was in my size! Without trying them on, I grabbed them, rushed to the cashier and threw them on the counter. And that was the start of a beautiful relationship.

Now I wish I was good at describing how things look like but no amount of description would do them justice. If I had to describe them in 3 words, it would be classy, understated and pretty (I would like to think they reflect me as a person..heh). Suffice to say, whenever I wore my ballet flats, people would notice and comment “Really nice/pretty shoes!” We were inseparable, to the extent that I hadn’t worn my sneakers for quite a while. I loved them so much that whenever I wore them out, I would find myself staring down and admiring them from time to time while beaming happily to myself thinking “I’m so lucky I found you”.

Anyway, like I said, unforeseen tragedy struck last Friday. Mi Amor and I were on the way to sis’ house (for our husbands’ game night :P) and I was looking for my shoes when I suddenly remembered that I had left them in my car coz I wore them earlier in the morning before changing shoes for work. While rummaging around the floor of my car, I felt something gooey and when I lifted the source of the gooeyness to have a better look, that’s when I SCREAMED & CRIED at the same time. MY SHOES HAD DISINTEGRATED AND MELTED INTO A MASS OF BLACK GOO!!



Melted...just like the Wicked Witch of the West



What happened was a few weeks earlier, I had sent my car for service and they changed the battery and left the old one on the floor of the front passenger seat. Me being the weakling I am couldn’t lift it so I left it where it was (though I had asked Mi Amor countless times to help remove it!) and apparently what caused the damage to my shoes was the acid leaking from the freaking car battery! ARGHHHHhhhHhhHHH!!! I should sue PERODUA for property damage, not to mention emotional distress and mental anguish!!!

As I’m writing this, I’m still in mourning. Goodbye my sole mate...I had big plans for us going places together (I was gonna bring you to Argentina and Vevey). I know I’ll never be able to find another pair like you. Hope you're happy in shoe heaven with the rest of your friends (say hi to my old school shoes for me, will ya?)